Euphoria
by lifewithdaleks
Summary: Every once in a while, the Doctor and Clara find interesting things to do aboard (or just a couple feet below) the TARDIS.


Their breaths were the only thing that penetrated the drowsy silence of the TARDIS.

Clara let out a contented sigh, and the Doctor imagined her eyes reflecting the millions of trillions of stars past the TARDIS's open doors.

He lay on his back, lips parted slightly, forehead relaxed as he felt the steady thump-thump of his companion's heart through her side against his.

For once his mind wasn't going a million miles an hour. For once he wasn't thinking about the past. Right then, he could only think of the number of times Clara's heart was beating per minute. _Thirty-one… thirty-two… thirty-three…_

She adjusted herself, and he lost count.

What would he do if that precious heart ever seized to pulse? Would he give his eleventh face away in a vain attempt to bring it back to life?

Her voice pulled him away from the morbid thoughts.

"I don't know how you can stand to look away from this, it's incredible," she said.

The statement was filled with such wonder that he had to flip onto his stomach just to see how lit up her features were.

Much to his dismay, he found that her eyes were so full of tears that they look twice their normal size.

"Hey?" he said softly, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, wiping at her eyes like if he'd caught her doing something unacceptable.

She sniffed, and cleared her throat, "I suppose I'm just really happy at the moment. Don't get me wrong,I'm still a bit rattled by the Whispermen and the echoes and all of that, but right now-at this moment- I'm happy. Just think: I'm still young. There are quite literally hundreds of millions of planets out there just waiting for us to go and get in trouble at. We don't have that many secrets anymore, and I suppose- if I really think about it… despite all the things that have happened… I'm happier now than I have been in since my mother died."

_Humany-wumany tears then._

His lips tugged up into a smile, and he pushed himself onto his knees.

"I'm very glad that you feel that way, Clara Oswald."

She turned over so that she was on her back and smiled. Her eyes were alight with a mixture of pleasant emotions, and the dimples in her cheeks were extremely pronounced.

He held out his hand to her, and she took it, jumping up with so much energy that he couldn't help but give her a hug.

Arms tightening around her waist, he lifted her into the air and spun her around. Once. Twice. Three Times.

By the fourth, he was dizzy, and so was she.

"Put me down," she said breathlessly, "Doctor, put me down!"

She slapped at his back with both hands, and he feigned pain.

"Oi! No hitting! Alright? Hey! I'm putting you down!"

In an attempt to regain her composure, Clara crossed her arms.

He stared her down, but her gaze was too strong. He lost.

"So where'd ya want to go today?" she asked, strolling over to the console, "Unless you have no idea where you want to go, and in fact are planning on setting the snogbox to random, and letting it land us in the middle of Henry the Eighth's court _again_."

He opened his mouth indignantly,"It was one time! How was I to know that he would propose to you?"

She continued as though she had not heard him.

"There was also the time we accidentally landed in eighteenth century America and discovered that it was normal back then to burn people who appeared out of nowhere in big blue boxes."

"I'll admit, that was a toughy…"

"Or the time when we had to pretend to be sweethearts in 1960's Paris, and you actually got down on your knee and proposed to me just to get the aliens to think that we were normal."

Her ears and neck grew warm.

She'd been so unsure of what was going on that day. One minute, they were running down a Parisian street in broad daylight, holding hands as they tried to locate the aliens' hostages, when suddenly he had dropped down on one knee and was kissing her hand like it was the most beautiful thing in the world.

"Marry me," he had said, his words genuine.

After saying yes in what was almost a question, he had pulled her into an unexpected kiss that lasted only until the two (supposed) men who had been trailing them since the Eiffel Tower had walked past.

"Good acting, Clara," he had said, his nose and cheeks pink, "The way you kissed back really made it look like you thought I was asking you to marry me. Very believable. I think they bought it."

"I didn't know you were capable of such passion, Doctor," she had teased, still out of breath.

"I-," he had begun.

Then the aliens had turned around, and then they were running, all their embarassment left behind in the narrow Parisian street.

The Doctor coughed pointedly, drawing her out of her flustered thoughts.

"Right," he said, "Well, in her defense you're the one who is always insulting her. Snogbox. Machine. _Appliance_. Where's your sensitivity?! "

"When you find it, let me know," she said, and then put her hands on the console in a let's-get-down-to-business type way, "Now if you don't mind, I'd really like to know where we are going?"

He waggled his eyebrows, "How about the Fields of Lavender in Provence, France?"

She groaned, "Too… smelly."

"Hogwarts?"

She looked up, "Are you being serious?"

He shook his head sadly, and then jumped over to her.

"Wait!"

"Wait?" she asked.

"You said you were happy just looking at the stars with me right?"

She thought about the question carefully before allowing herself to give him a wary 'yes.'

"How about walking among them? Well, I say walking but really it's more like playing in a bouncy house."

He jumped up and down, and then ran forward and ruffled her hair.

"Yes! That's it! It's perfect!"

Confused, Clara watched as he flipped levers, turned keys, and slammed on buttons.

There came a sound like a hiss, and the entire TARDIS shook.

"Doctor!" She said, holding onto the console with white knuckles.

"It's alright Clara, she's just stabilizing. We'll be fine in a moment!"

The deafening sound of pipes creaking and expanding resounded through the time machine; the hissing grew louder.

A violent lurch and Clara was on the slick floor, sliding feet first toward the open doors of the TARDIS.

Her small hands scrabbled for something-anything to prevent her from falling into open space.

She felt her feet and lower body go over the edge before a pair of callused hands closed around her forearms.

He helped pull her from the edge and put both of his hands on her cheeks.

"This is why we don't call our ship an appliance," The Doctor sighed, "I thought you two had started getting along."

She huffed, "She's the one who wants to eject me into space, and you're telling_ me_ to be nice?"

One of the front doors swung inward, hitting her on the bum.

"Ow!"

Tensely, she looked up at the ceiling, "I really doubt friendship is on the table at this point in time."

He took her hand between the both of his and kissed it.

"Ready for the fun part I was mentioning earlier?"

"Bouncy house," she said, kneading at her tailbone, "Yeah I'm ready."

He grinned and let go of her hand.

Cracking his neck and spine, he took off in a run for the open doors. He jumped, and Clara was left standing there with a mix of surprise and horror.

"Doctor!" She yelled, and then she was at the edge, screaming his name.

"Here," he replied calmly, some feet below her.

She squinted into the darkness and saw his peculiar face peering up at her with a grin.

"Come down," he said, "It's just as bouncy as I remember it! Maybe even a little more!"

"What is-," she began, but the swinging door of the TARDIS knocked her off the ship.

It was less like falling, and more like sinking to the bottom of a swimming pool. Only now, she could actually breathe.

She landed delicately on a strange, bouncy surface.

When she stood up and looked around, her chest tightened in awe and fear.

She was standing-quite literally- among the stars.

"It's- how is this even possible?" she spluttered.

The Doctor's voice came from her right, low and almost reverent, "Clara, you more than anyone should know that nothing is impossible."

She looked down and saw the stars below her feet. Getting to her knees, she pushed her hand into the transparent material.

It sunk in and she snatched it back.

The material was like a foam mattress, but softer, and more springy.

She hopped and rose several feet.

"Whoa," she said, flapping her arms, "Uh, Doctor!"

He pulled her down by the ankle, and when her feet touched the strange surface, she felt the pull of gravity.

"This is something I like to call the foamy boxy play thing. Yeah, I like that. Foamy boxy play thing. Good. Anyways, it's a sort of shield I installed on the TARDIS when I was toting around a mother and her two toddlers," he paused, continuing in a whisper, "They had a bad habit of putting themselves in life threatening situations. Had it not been for this shield, those children would've been a goner... After they left, I took the shield off. It's made of various solidified gases that also have their own gravity whenever you're touching them.

She hopped again, and this time allowed herself to float up.

She spun around and laughed, "This is awesome!"

The Doctor soon joined her in her spinning and diving, and eventually they reached the top shield.

The gravity reversed and Clara sat up, feeling flushed and happy.

She looked up and saw the Doctor's face upside down and mere inches from hers.

"Hulo Doctor" she said.

"Hulo Clara," he said.

He tugged on her hand and she twisted until her face was level with his.

She shook her head at his euphoric expression, and leaned in to brush her lips softly against his cheek.

She was happy, and judging by the bludgeoned expression on his face, he was too.

Pulsing with an energy that was almost alive, the stars around them seemed to glow just a bit brighter.

**A/N: My tiny gift to you all because the fiftieth comes out quite soon :) **

**X**


End file.
